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We are barely two-weeks into this summer, and I find myself in the position of having blogged about one subject only to substitute (on the following Thursday) what I originally had scheduled for our "Friday Movie Suggestion Night" for the sake of continuity. This weeks unpredictable- predicament, began with my post about how lost we've become as a nation when it comes to the "The Delicate Art of Answering a Phone Call". In that post, I attempted to connect the fictional character of Gordon Gekko played by the great actor, Michael Douglas with a point taken from his "Greed is good" speech in the film to take hubris with good manners versus bad manners.
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The speech itself is based loosely on two controversial real-life characters, arbitrageur Ivan Boesky who gave a speech on "Greed" at the University of California in 1986, and real-life activist investor / corporate raider Carl Icahn who wound up in a hostile bidding war the previous year where he acquired the now-defunct Trans World Airlines. Soon after taking over control of TWA, Icahn took to the microphone at a shareholder's meeting and shocked the evening's guests with a number of comments. Among others, "If you want a friend buy a dog". By the time Icahn concluded his speech, the room was said to have fallen into an eerie quiet. A colorful TWA Marketing Vice President known for his entertainment acumen, resumed his place at the podium after Icahn sat down and told the crowd, "Well, all I can say is: 'Woof, Woof". The comment literally brought the house down. Icahn fired him the following Monday morning. But it was largely through watching tapes of Icahn at these contentious board meetings that Douglas was able to gather the necessary subtext for his role in Wall Street. Here we are 20 years later, and the American Film Institute has named the fictional Gordon Gekko Number 24 of the top 50 movie villains of all time.
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Tuesday's BLOG centered on the sense of artificial empowerment bordering on bad taste and poor business ethics with the subject of telephone calls that went unanswered. Here we find a fictitious, young stock broker in Bud Fox (played by Charlie Sheen) who desperately pursues a meeting with Gekko and is eventually introduced to the testosterone-driven world of greenmailing and insider-trading (a practice outlawed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) woven into a story of seduction, romance, power and corruption. The film earned Michael Douglas an Academy Award in 1988 for Best Actor in a Leading Role and is fairly intense. Directed by Oliver Stone, the film is said to capture the power and greed of the self-absorbed 1980's. The Cast: Charlie Sheen is Bud Fox; Tamara Tunie is Carolyn; Franklin Cover is Dan; Chuck Pfeifer is Chuckie; John C. McGinley is Marvin; Hal Holbrook is Lou Mannheim; James Karen is Lynch; Leslie Lyles is Natalie; Michael Douglas is Gordon Gekko; Faith Geer is Natalie's Assistant; Frank Adonis is Charlie; John Capodice is Dominick; Martin Sheen is Carl Fox and Daryl Hannah is Gordon's girlfriend/model. This is a riveting summer film with sizzle!
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ENJOY!
18 Comments:
I'm afraid our summer has ended, we had the wettest June on record - and more rain today in July. That will give me plenty of opportunities to stay in and read excellent blogs like yours and catch up with some dvds.
Ellee: What a nice compliment! Thank You!!
Ahhh Gordon Gekko - definitely worthy of the title "villain"
Patti_Cake: A great actor!
I really enjoy your film review posts, Michael. Thank you. And a belated happy 4th July!
mm: And to you as well! Hope you enjoyed yourself!
Hi Michael. Just visiting from Michele's! Your blog looks interesting and wow you have ALOT of links!
Chrissie: Thanks very much for your visit. I'll be over to check out your site as well!
I haven't seen that movie since it was a new video release and I was a teenager. I remember it being good and intense, but I think I'd really have a much deeper understanding of it if I revisit it now.
Jason: You can credit Oliver Stone's understanding of the stock market with the spot-on gritty realism and intensity of this movie because his father was a stock broker! Thanks BTW for the visit. I'll stop by!!
Thanks for summarizing the genesis of Wall Street so thoroughly, Michael. I remember the film well, but wasn't aware of its backstory. So cool!
Wish I could have been at that TWA meeting. I love when the unexpected happens. You feel so alive as you look around the room and watch for reactions.
Carmi: Carl is something else!
I know someone who actually decided he wanted to work on Wall Street AFTER seeing this movie. Needless to say he didn't stay there long.:)
Janet: It is high testosterone film that is a cautionary tale.
thanks for the insight into this movie, I can see a VP going woof, woof at a stockholder's meeting.
I enjoyed Wall Street. My favorite characters are Hal Hollbrook as the older mentor and Bud's father. I'm afraid that we (Americans) didn't get it's point.
Sage: There's talk of a sequel in the works!
THis is a great film, and I also heard that they a sequel is in the works for when Gecko gets out of prison.
Becky: It's true. Part of this, I found out, is that the SEC laws changed over 20 years. So obviously a very sharp Oliver Stone has figured out a story line. I hope to see it.
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